Pane E Coperto In Restaurants

Gabe

Gabe

Community Member
Nov 9, 2014
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This used to be a cover charge per person on a restaurant, but as they aren't allowed to do this anymore, they give you a basket of bread. Now, if you don't want the bread, you still pay the cover charge, so you should look out for this wherever you eat. I find in osterie the cover charge is very low and the bread is always homemade by mama compared to restaurants.

If the cover charge was quite high, I would ask for more bread as it is complimentary after all, but it's worth knowing that it is per person. I am not sure whether they charge for children or babies as I never dined with them though.
 
How interesting is this. I only know of cover charges when it comes to dining at night clubs. They have these per person minimums. I suppose for small restaurants in Italy, it makes sense to have some sort of flat fee so they don't get stuck with someone at a table for hours just sipping coffee. I can imagine that happening in Italy, with picturesque cafes and restaurants.
 
It's normal in many French and Italian restaurants even outside of their home countries. It's not for small places but all places especially in cities. Those with no cover charge usually have higher prices and charge for bread, so it's about the same anyhow. If you don't order food then they usually make up your bill for you and leave it on the table without asking as a subtle hint.
 
I had no idea restaurants charge for the bread, even if you don't want it.
Did this happen to you? And did they actually write "cover charge for bread" on the receipt?
I'm asking because, something similar happened to us this December. I was with my family out of town, and decided to eat lunch in a local... bar, diner, whatever it was. We were at Lake Garda and, each time I go there with my boyfriend, we always stop to have coffee at that very bar :) So we thought, let's have lunch here with my family...

We actually ordered pizza, and one piadina, so there was no bread needed! However, when we got the bill, they charged €6 extra, for 4 people. We immediately thought it was the tax for occupying the chair, or a tax for being served the meal at the table... we did not imagine this could have been the cover charge for bread! LOL :D
 
Rosie said:
I had no idea restaurants charge for the bread, even if you don't want it.
Did this happen to you? And did they actually write "cover charge for bread" on the receipt?
I'm asking because, something similar happened to us this December. I was with my family out of town, and decided to eat lunch in a local... bar, diner, whatever it was. We were at Lake Garda and, each time I go there with my boyfriend, we always stop to have coffee at that very bar :) So we thought, let's have lunch here with my family...

We actually ordered pizza, and one piadina, so there was no bread needed! However, when we got the bill, they charged €6 extra, for 4 people. We immediately thought it was the tax for occupying the chair, or a tax for being served the meal at the table... we did not imagine this could have been the cover charge for bread! LOL :D
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Yes, it's really a cover charge, but these days they are not allowed to charge for you to sit down so they say it's for the bread. Other places have music so they call that a cover charge for the entertainment whether it was entertaining or not. In some places such as Rome it is banned and replaced with service charge, but there are places that still charge coperto.

I was once in a place and because my friend was on a budget and didn't want bread and the waiter said the cover charge is charged whether we have bread or not so we had it, because we would have paid anyhow.

I think places get around it as most people start eating the bread straightway or the breadsticks so it's too late. Most people wouldn't quibble, but check the bottom of the menu for cover and service charges per person.
 
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